New Place, New Adventures

Three weeks ago I applied for a couple Paramedic jobs out of state just for the heck of it. I had been working for Rocky Mountain Raceways on their safety team, my passion for Emergency Medicine was rekindled and I was hungry for more. I wanted to be able to practice to the full scope of practice as a licensed medic, not just as an EMT. Careers in EMS are very competitive in Utah and I had tested for SLCFD. I had missed the written test cutoff by a single point. Two agencies that I had applied to out of state had gotten back to me and had asked for interviews over the phone. One was for Lander, WY and the other was for Del Norte County EMS in Northern California. Which one would you have chosen? Well I chose Northern Cali. It's the most Northwestern county in California. I would be on the coast and 20 miles from the Oregon border. The phone interview went well and I was nervous but excited to hear back. I received a phone call a couple days later. They were interested in me and wanted a letter of recommendation. I didn't want this opportunity to escape me so I asked both my Supervisor at RMR, and the head of the Paramedic Program to write one for me. The letters they wrote brought me to tears. They were so kind and supportive. They surpassed my expectations greatly. I cannot thank those two individuals enough. Those letters were the deciding factor that ended up getting me the job. I was to report 2 weeks from when I got the official phone call and email offering the job. I accepted and started my preparations for this life changing event. 

I absolutely hate saying good bye. Saying see you later however, isn't any easier. I filled those two weeks with countless visits, adventures, and laughs with those I care about the most. I've come to learn that living life unguarded and with your heart out in the open is so rewarding but makes feelings (both good, bad, happy and sad) so much more vivid and intense. I wouldn't have it any other way though. I would rather have high highs and low lows than be numb to feelings. 

My Safety Family at RMR was one of the hardest see you laters I had to do. I was brought on with open arms and made friendships that will last a lifetime. I cannot say thank you enough to all of you for making me feel so welcomed and loved. I will come back and visit, I promise. 

Jason, you my friend, will be missed too. We did everything together. I've spent more time with you over the last 5 months than I have with my own family. I'm so glad to have gotten to know you, the love, laughs, talks, adventures, quiet moments, celebrations and hugs we have shared will always be with me! I cherish those. I intend to keep you around if nothing more than just a friend for life whether you like it or not. :)

Whitney, my bestest friend and partner in crime. I can't believe we have been friends for over 8 years! Time has flown by and I'm so glad that I've had you by my side through the good and bad. You're the best friend a girl could ask for. Supportive, adventurous, crazy, gorgeous, kind, loving.... the list goes on and on. I'm still going to try and come out to go to that concert that I told you we would go to for your birthday! You're always welcome out this way too!

Jared and Haval. haha I don't even know what to say other than I wish you were here with me to drive me crazy and make me laugh. You two have been the best! I'm sooo lucky to have you two as great examples and support in my life. I don't know what my life would be like with out you.

To my dear family. Thank you soo much for coming out and staying the first night with me in my new place. When I accepted the job, I thought I would be coming out here alone. Your love and support have made this possible and much easier than I thought it would be. I can't wait to see you all again soon!

Now that all of that has been said, lets get to the pictures of the Adventure so far :)

The morning my mom and I left for Crescent City. My little red car with and even littler trailer. And Nana on top ready to hit the road. 

My mom is notorious for the notes she leaves. These were the ones explaining how to take care of the critters while she would be out of town. Novels!

Mom and I got in to town late and stayed at a little motel close to the beach. In the morning we walked the pier while we waited for Kam and Courtney to get up and call us. They are on a 3 week long trek that will take them from Salt Lake down to San Fran, and then up the coast to Vancouver and Banff. They were in the area at the same time I was moving in and were able to meet up with my mom and I for a day. How lucky is that?

It is so green here. Blackberries grow like weeds and the trees are some of the largest I've seen.

Mom, I'm soo glad you made the trip with me. That drive would have been unbearable without you! I appreciate your love and support so much! I could not have done all of this without you! Come back and see me soon. We will walk the beaches for hours and find more treasures!

Crab shells litter the shore everywhere!

This is the Battery Point Lighthouse. It's maybe 3 miles from my apartment

The first time I saw one of these I thought it was a piece of plastic or trash. Come to find out it is a Man of War Jellyfish. Google the sting of these things. Brutal! I'll keep a better eye out for them from now on.

My mom, brother and Courtney all decided to go walk around the Redwoods. Everyone needs to see them atleast once in their life. I have never felt soo small and insignificant as I did while walking through them. I felt no bigger than an ant.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to share this with these two. I love them more than they'll ever know!

This is my cute little apartment, It has a really nice kitchen, perfect for entertaining. The garage is more than large enough to fit my car and all of the toys I brought with me. I even have a little fenced off section of yard that I can do with what I please. I would like to plant some herbs and maybe some peas or peppers and put a few more pavers out so I can place a chair or two and a table to sit at.

The last night that my mom, Kam and Court would be spending with me, we had a fire on the beach. It was perfect in every way. Thanks for the suggestion Kam!

My dad arrived really early in the morning. I woke up around 6:30 and met up with him to walk the beach and explore a bit while the others slept in and got some much needed rest. We found a live sand dollar. Its the first one I've seen. I didn't know they had little feet on the bottom of them!

Its always foggy or cloudy, I can foresee that one thing that I will miss about Utah is the direct sun. I haven't had to use my sunglasses more than an hour yet and I've been here three days. 

Dad, Thank you so much for coming out of your way on your way home from Vancouver to see me and my new place. The day I got to spend with you was special and perfect. From walking the beach, and redwoods to the dinner you cooked me and watching movies on my laptop in camp chairs afterward. I can't wait for you to come back out so I can show you more.

My dad and I were early enough to catch the lignhthouse while the tide was out. Normally, the path to it is under a couple feet of water making it hard to get to. We sat on one of the picnic tables and took a selfie. The lighthouse keeper saw us and came out to talk with us for a minute. They weren't open for tours but he was nice enough to give us a brief history and talk.

The keeper of the lighthouse brought out cat food in a tin cup to feed this little guy with. He ate it right out of my hand!

After walking the beach, My dad and I went up to the Redwoods so he could see first hand the grandeur of them.

We went to a beach on the way back to my apartment and found some little crabs to play with. They were fast and would wedge themselves in the rock. I have yet to catch one. They make my nervous. I don't want to get pinched.

Thanks again dad for coming out. It means a lot to me! Can't wait to show you and Grandma a few new beaches I've found. They're beautiful!

Crazy Week!

"I believe that we are who we choose to be. Nobody is going to come and save you. You've got to save yourself. Nobody is going to give you anything. You've got to go our and fight for it. Nobody knows what you want except you, and nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. So don't give up on your dreams."   -Unknown.

Life has been soo busy recently, I feel like I haven't had much time to sit back and catch my breath. School is getting to be overwhelming. This morning I took an exam that covered more than 700 pages, 15 chapters and a variety of subjects. This week was going to be a week off.... So much for that. I've also taken it upon myself for reasons unknown to design a class t-shirt. 

This week has also been one of the craziest weeks of my life. It started off with back to back clinicals at the University of Utah Medical Center Emergency Department. Sunday I went in at 1300 and left at 0100 Monday morning and had to be back up there to follow Salt Lake City Fire Department's Medical Director around at 0900. Sunday's night shift was crazy busy! We had trauma after trauma come in. I had the opportunity to talk to a handful of nurses and techs and learn some valuable information that I have a feeling will help me out in the months to come. I was very successful with my IV starts and have become more confident in my abilities to choose a site and hit my mark. Monday's shift was one full of firsts and crazies. I experienced things that I hope never to see smell or come in contact with in any way, ever again. I'll just leave the description at decontamination for feces, yeast infection, and maggots, oh and a poorly cared for gastrostomy bag... I definitely needed something to take my mind off of medical things even just for a little while.

I've been looking at rodeo kayaks for a few weeks now and have contacted heaven only knows how many people about their posts on KSL. There were a few boats that I called to go look at and they had been sold just hours before. I feel this was a blessing in disguise. I found a little yellow 6.5' Dagger Ultrafuge for sale by a college kid living in Provo and decided to go have a look and see if it was one that might work. I sat in it and the padding was just where it needed to be and fit like a glove. Needless to say, I'm now the happy owner of said kayak. Haval made the trip with me and we had the brilliant idea to see if Jared would let us come use his pool to learn to Eskimo Roll in. He said yes, so I called my dad up and asked if he would come and talk us through how to execute one. I struggled with it for a while and needed a break. Haval hopped into a kayak for his first time ever and on his third try, managed to right  himself. Me, being the fierce competitor I am had to try and try and try again until I could do it for myself. Best investment I've made in a while :D I can't wait to play with it more this spring as the weather gets better.

Wednesday was my study day. I read and reread and tested myself until my mind turned to mush, and then I went and picked out a new set of whitewater paddles and a rafting life vest! 

Thursday I just had to go out and play with my new toys and try the significantly shorter paddles out. They took some getting used to but are much easier to maneuver in the tiny kayak. It was a lovely way to start my morning and destress a bit. I then retreated back to Sugarhouse coffee to do my last stent of studying before the big test Friday morning. I felt confident in how the pretests were going and the information I had covered. Logan text me and said he was done with his last final and we decided to go out and celebrate so we went shooting. I love going out to shoot with that kid, we always have a good time. We had a good chance to catch up on life and how things were going with old friends we used to hang out with over dinner at the Pie Pizzaria. I'm amazed with how fast time flies and how good friends can be apart for various reasons for long periods of time and get back together and it seems like you were never apart! One can never have too many friends and I'm lucky to have some of the best to be had!

Hopefully the results of this test prove that my hard work and concentration have paid off and that I'm showing enough progress and improvement that my teachers will be happy with my performance. I'm looking forward to the weeks to come and the warm weather that summer will hopefully bring! 

Bit of a rough week

This week was rough! There was a lot of information we covered and it hit me just how much we need to know in a short amount of time. I'm not studying nearly enough. This program truly is demanding of both time and energy. Friday came and I was looking forward to a nice break over the weekend.

Yesterday I completed my third BLS ride along with the same station I had the pleasure of working with last week. I thought since they were so welcoming to me last week the least I could do was bring them some doughnuts from Banbury Cross. Eastwood has the biggest sweet tooth I've ever seen. As I arrived at the station they were leaving on a call and I took my wallet and keys, locked my car and hopped straight into the engine with them.

There was something in the air yesterday. There was an unusually high amount of both respiratory and cardiac arrests. I had a feeling that I was going to get to experience my first go around with CPR and resuscitation. Our first patient I would be surprised to hear if he made it through the rest of the day. He didn't not look good and I could tell that his family was prepared and ready for him to die. Our second call was a man complaining of Pneumonia, we didn't get to interact with him too much, Gold Cross was on scene and ready to transport. He thanked us for responding and hopped in the ambulance so he could go get treatment at the hospital.

The third call of the day was rough. It was dispatched as a pediatric respiratory arrest. They said the child was not breathing and mom was performing breaths and pediatric CPR. Luckily by the time we got there mom had gotten the child breathing again. Grandma was on scene and kept saying make sure they both go. We found out that this little one that was fighting for his own life had a twin brother and Grandma wanted them to be transported together so they could stay with in sight of each other. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time on scene and Gold Cross was quick to transport the baby up to Primary Childrens for further treatment. Mom was unusually calm during this whole thing. We suspected she was on something and very high. It makes me sad to see the situation a lot of patients we interact with are in. It makes me appreciate the life and choices I have made for myself.

Things quieted down for a bit and just as we had finished dinner our last call of the night came in. It wouldn't be a ride along with out an overdose. This one was the worst yet by far. We knocked on the door and tried to enter but it was locked. A man answered and said She's not breathing. We rushed in and found her unresponsive on her bedroom floor. One of the Firemen I was riding along with suggested we move her into the living room where we would have more room to work. Good thing he suggested it because we would soon need all the extra room we could get. We opened our boxes and got ready to start CPR. I was first in charge of the airway. I continued to breathe for her using a Non-rebreather mask while the rest of the crew started on compressions until the medics could respond, administer medications, and hook her up to a heart monitor. I got to see them intubate her as well as start and Interosseous Access line. Which is where you drill a needle into the bone marrow when IV access is unavailable. I also got to step in and perform CPR compressions along side the crew. It was a textbook version of organized chaos. We were able to get a heartbeat back. Gold Cross soon after transported her to the nearest hospital but I would be shocked if she survived the ride.

Today was a day of firsts for me. I love the work I do and the people I have the pleasure of doing it with. When the going gets rough the tough get going. I have a renewed appreciation for the field of work that I hope to someday play a bigger role in.

Don't ever take life for granted.

Until next time,
Katie

BLS ride along

Today I had the pleasure of riding along with two advanced EMTs from Gold Cross. I have always gone with the Fire crews. It was fun to see how the two groups work together to get things done and provide the best care they can. It was a slow day as far as calls go, but I learned a lot from Jen and Ervin. As we were washing the rig and wiping it down, we were talking about the importance of getting along and meshing with your partner. If you can trust your partner and know that they have your back, your job becomes much less stressful and easier to do. Every time I go on a ride, I learn something new that I will never forget and walk away wanting more. I was treated as an equal while riding with them. That meant a lot to me! I feel we all had a good time and got a long well. I hope that when I'm put with a partner I can mesh with them as well as these two do. I can't wait to actually work in the field and go somewhere long enough to get to really know the people that I'm spending my time with.

On a little bit of a different note, this past weekend I had the chance to go down to Zion National Park with my mom, two of her friends and their daughters, and my good friend Whitney. We couldn't have asked for better weather and company. We all had a blast! Here are a few pictures.

I'll try to keep writing regularly. Life has been so good to me! I can't wait to see what tomorrow and the future brings!

Until next time,
Katie

Taking small things for granted

Today our Paramedic class had the honor and pleasure of listening to Annette speak about what to expect on out clinical rotations at the Burn Unit at the University of Utah hospital. I am always so excited when we get to here about a specific injury or patient we may encounter in the health field from someone who works with it everyday and not only that but is passionate about what they do. While she was going through her slide show I found myself grimacing at some of the graphic pictures she had included. I then stepped back and thought to myself, how would I feel if that was a picture of myself or of someone I loved. Our natural and first instinct is to shy away from uncomfortable sights. Annette brought up an often forgotten point. These are people too and they have feelings greater than any of us may experience. Having worked with burn patients for many years, the best thing we as a normally not very warm and welcoming society can do when we encounter someone who has experienced this unfortunate situation is to acknowledge them and ask them about their experience. Saying something like "I noticed the scar on your arm, it looks like it's from a burn. How are you healing? or what happened if you don't mind me asking?" She said the worst thing we as a society can do is pretend like we're not looking and don't care. In elementary school aged kids she said that when a kid returns to school, his/her friends will rally around the patient and act as protectors of them. In middle school and high school, people are ruthless and those who at one time we considered our closest friends may not be as accepting. When do we as people make this shift and why?

Annette also shared with us the awe inspiring experience of seeing these people who come in because a needle broke off in their arm from self administering heroine to admitting themselves to detox, and changing their thinking from what am I going to do now that I can't shoot up myself to who is going to take care of my ill mother. She said "Peoples' perspective on life changes after being burned, those who live choose to live and those who don't want to survive usually don't."

Another little tidbit she left us with was the saying "Don't tell me what to do if you can't tell me why." I am going to try my best to use this every chance I get. Not so much on the not taking orders but when I give orders or ask others to do something differently, I better have a good reason why I asked them to change what they're doing, or it's most likely not a very logical request. I'm not a huge fan of taking orders or of criticism. I struggled with this a lot with coaches in high school. I found I was much more receptive to their instruction if they had data to back up their request, and took the time to explain it to me. This can also be applied to patient care, when performing a procedure on a patient, they're (in theory, definitely not always) going to be much more calm and receptive to care if they know what to expect and why you're going to do it to them.

As Kyle brought up at the end of class these calls are low frequency/high acuity for the Fire Department. Meaning we won't get called on them much but when we do, a lot is required of us and our interventions may just be the difference between life and death.

Class today has reminded me to appreciate the little things in life.

I was reading on a facebook page of a friend of a friend about their child who's time is set to expire really soon due to heart failure and how they as a family are coping with this potentially devastating time in their lives and there are a few lines from it that put my feelings in to words more effectively than I seem to be able to. Here are two lines that really stuck out to me:

"I believe it is in recognizing the many blessings we already have that we find happiness. That isn't to say life isn't painful for us and that we wish things were otherwise - but our trials, when placed in the context of our blessings, seem to give us a much more balanced and joyful perspective."

"... it is the battles that rage inside our minds and hearts that are in greatest need of others service."

Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.
— Henri-Frederic Amiel

Remember to let those you love and appreciate know just how much you love and appreciate them and to do it as often as you can. You never know if that may be your last chance to do so.

Until next time,

Katie